The Voice in Speech and Song

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Chapter 58—Soon Coming of Christ

The Preaching of the Gospel—God does not expect His workers to attend to trifling matters. They are to preach the gospel. They will find that short discourses are the most effective. In every place in which the work is begun, the standard is to be raised higher and still higher. The truth of Christ's soon coming is to be proclaimed. And all the workers, whether they speak from the pulpit or give Bible readings, are to be taught to speak in a clear, expressive manner.—Letter 200, 1903. VSS 335.1

Earnest Warnings—Living power must attend the message of Christ's second appearing. We must not rest until we see many souls converted to the blessed hope of the Lord's return. In the days of the apostles the message that they bore wrought a real work, turning souls from idols to serve the living God. The work to be done today is just as real, and the truth is just as much truth; only we are to give the message with as much more earnestness as the coming of the Lord is nearer. The message for this time is positive, simple, and of the deepest importance. We must act like men and women who believe it. Waiting, watching, working, praying, warning the world—this is our work.—The Review and Herald, November 13, 1913. VSS 335.2

Practical Christian Truth—The truths of prophecy are bound up together, and as we study them, they form a beautiful cluster of practical Christian truth. All the discourses that we give are plainly to reveal that we are waiting, working, and praying for the coming of the Son of God. His coming is our hope. This hope is to be bound up with all our words and works, with all our associations and relationships.—Evangelism, 220. VSS 336.1

The Second Coming, a Constant Theme—The second coming of the Son of man is to be the wonderful theme kept before the people. Here is a subject that should not be left out of our discourses. Eternal realities must be kept before the mind's eye, and the attractions of the world will appear as they are, altogether profitless as vanity. What are we to do with the world's vanities, its praises, its riches, its honors, or its enjoyments?—Evangelism, 220. VSS 336.2